Espanyol have declined to offer midfielder Joan Verdu a new contract after rejecting the player’s demands.
The 30-year-old, whose existing agreement runs out at the end of June, revealed last month that it was him who proposed a fresh offer to the club, but it has emerged that President Joan Collet has chosen to reject it.
Speaking to Catalunya Radio’s Club de la Mitjanit programme, he explained why.
“The club cannot cope, neither economically nor with the number of years, that the player wants.
“However, in the next few days we will have contact with Verdu’s representative to try and reach a compromise so that he can continue under [boss] Javier Aguirre next season,” said Collet.
Barcelona-born Verdu has been at Cornella El-Prat since joining from Deportivo La Coruna in 2009, having begun his career at cross-city rivals Barcelona, and has recently been linked with both Real Betis and Villarreal.
